Most Rev. Alfred Martins, Catholic Archbishop, has asked the federal and state government to return missionary schools to those who originally owned them.
The Archbishop made this remark during the 30th Jesuit Education anniversary in Lagos, adding that returning missionary schools would be the best option for the education system in the country.
Martin opined thus, ‘In Kwara State, I understand the school crisis did start because the Christians asked that their schools be handed back to them. And rather than the judgment being given on that particular issue, the judgment is now being given on an extraneous matter to the issue, which is now creating the problem.
“I certainly believe that if the schools were handed back to the original owners, the kind of values that we used to have that were so present in children that pass through our schools would be restored. Look at the schools that have been returned to the owners in Lagos State; for example, we can see the difference in the schools that were handed over compared with the way they were before. One can only hope that the government of Kwara state will recognize the fact that it cannot do it alone.”
“Kidnapping is certainly a terrible dimension of the general insecurity in the land. That it goes on at all is an indication of the failure of security agencies that we have in the country. One just hopes that as we have new men who are in charge of the security, we hope that this will make a difference to the whole security situation in our country.”
